Dandelion Rubber from Continental Nominated as One of the Top 3 Projects at the GreenTec Awards 2014

19/02/2014

On February 25, 2014, the 50-strong expert jury will choose the winners from the three finalists in each of the 14 categories – award ceremony to take place on May 4, 2014, in Munich

Continental sees huge potential for dandelion as a crop plant in Europe

Construction is under way on the pilot facility for industrial production of dandelion rubber

​Leading tire manufacturer Continental and the Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology (IME) in Münster have been nominated at the GreenTec Awards 2014 for their joint development project "Rubin – rubber that can be industrialized and is made from dandelion plants for tire production" as one of the top three projects in the "Automobility" category. This category recognizes technological innovations, eco-friendly mobility concepts, and mobility services in particular. In the process, the nominated projects are judged not only on the results achieved to date, but also on their future potential. The GreenTec Awards are Europe's biggest environmental and business awards and have been presented since 2008. On February 25, 2014, the 50 renowned experts making up the jury will decide on the podium positions for the three finalists in each of the 14 different categories. The award ceremony will take place in Munich on May 4, 2014, at the start of IFAT, the world's leading trade fair for water, sewage, waste, and raw materials management.

Start

Nikolai Setzer, Member of the Executive Board of Continental and Head of Tire Division

Dr. Andreas Topp, Head of Material and Process Development and Industrialization for Tires at Continental

In recent years, with the aid of state-of-the-art growing methods and optimized cultivation systems, it has been possible to produce high-grade natural rubber from dandelion roots in the laboratory. A pilot facility that produces natural rubber by the ton is currently under construction. Continental is expecting a long-term increase in demand for natural rubber that corresponds with the expected growth of the global tire market.

"With this dandelion project, we have taken a huge step forward on the path to our long-term goal of making the production of tires for cars, trucks, and bicycles, as well as specialist tires, even more sustainable," explains Dr. Andreas Topp, who looks after the cooperation project as the head of Material and Process Development as well as Industrialization for Tires at Continental. "We expect to be able to produce large amounts of dandelion rubber with at least equivalent performance properties to conventional rubber harvested from rubber trees. And, as a result, we will put ourselves in a position where we are much less dependent on the annual harvest situation in the subtropical growing regions," adds Topp. Furthermore, a natural rubber tree requires up to seven years before the first pieces of useable rubber can be harvested. By contrast, natural rubber from dandelion plants could be harvested several times a year without any waiting time at all.